Help
Welcome to the Restarters Wiki!
This is a place where those of us in the Restarters community with experience and skills in mending appliances and gadgets can share them with those who are starting out, or whose own knowledge lies in different areas. This site is managed by The Restart Project. Learn more on our About page.
What it isn't
It isn't going to show you how to fix a particular make and model of device, which we leave to the various fix-it sites and many disassembly videos. Here, we concentrate on basic and widely applicable principles. You can also get help with a particular device on Twitter or Instagram by tagging @RestartProject.
Who is it for?
It's aimed at anyone with a curiosity about how things work and how to fix them. No prior knowledge is assumed. In the spirit of sharing knowledge as widely as possible, everyone is welcome to read it and any member of the Restarters community can contribute. You just need an account.
How can I find what I need?
The Main Page acts as a kind of directory for the rest of the wiki. If you can't find what you're looking for there, you can also search the wiki using the search bar at the top of the page.
How can I edit or add content?
Anyone with an account on this site—Restarters.net—can add or edit content on this wiki. If you don't have an account yet, you can sign up here.
If you're signed up, you can edit any page by clicking the Edit tab at the top of the content box or the [edit] hot links that appear at the start of each section on a page. Always click Show Preview at the bottom to check that your edits are formated correctly before clicking Save Changes.
If you can't find a page about a particular topic, you can add a new page by searching for that topic and creating a new page from the option just above the search results. The page name will be the search term you used, so choose something concise and meaningful.
Page layout, paragraphs, headings, images, and lists etc. are defined using the Mediawiki mark-up language, but don't be frightened - the basics are extremely simple. Our Mediawiki Help page will get your started in just a few minutes.
Note that any changes or new pages you make need to be approved by an editor. You can find a list of current editors here. Your change will only appear on the live Wiki once approved. In the meantime, you can find it on the Page History (under the Other tab at the top of the content box).
Still not confident?
Maybe you're not sure your standard of written English or your ability to express yourself are quite up to scratch. Don't worry too much - an approved editor will check it and tidy it up if necessary before making it live.
Or maybe you'd like to suggest a change but don't feel confident to make it yourself. Every page has an associated Discussion page where you can leave your thoughts, comments or half-baked ideas. You can access it from the Discuss tab at the top. By way of example, here is the Discussion page for this help page. You can write what you like, formatted (or unformatted) how you like, just so long as it's civil. All we ask is that you sign your comments by appending 2 hyphens and 4 tildes (--~~~~), which will be expanded to your user name and a timestamp.
Or maybe you're not quite sure of your facts, or you think there's something inaccurate, misleading or unclear on a page. Feel free to express yourself in the Discussion page.
What do red links mean?
You may notice that while most links in the wiki are blue or purple, some links are red. A red link takes you to a page that hasn't been created yet. If you spot one, you're welcome to start that page yourself! Our Mediawiki Help page tells you how.
Need some help?
No problem. If the Mediawiki Help page didn't answer your question, just start a new topic over in our help section on the Talk forum and someone will be able to help you out.